Workplace Accommodations for Migraine and Working From Home
How to ask for workplace accommodation and home working for migraine in the UK and US, what counts as reasonable, and how to prepare the request.
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The office light flickers, the open plan is loud, and after an attack you are done for the day. You wonder whether home working, or another change, is possible. In Sam's migraine program a diary, doctor report and monthly questionnaire run together. Your sleep and heart rate variability from Apple Health sit in the same app, and a new entry made today picks up last night's values when they exist. That record anchors a request to your employer and a note from your doctor.
This text is general information, not legal advice. Only a lawyer or adviser who knows your case can say what applies to you. In the UK that means ACAS, Citizens Advice, the Equality Advisory Support Service or an employment lawyer. In the US it means the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), the EEOC or an employment lawyer. Whether you get home working in your job, no text can promise.
Can you get accommodation for migraine at work?
Yes, in the right circumstances. In Great Britain the Equality Act 2010 gives disabled people a right to reasonable adjustments, and Northern Ireland has separate disability law. In the US the ADA gives a right to reasonable accommodation at employers with 15 or more employees.
ACAS describes reasonable adjustments as changes that remove or reduce a disadvantage linked to your disability. The EEOC describes reasonable accommodation as any change that lets a qualified person with a disability do the job or enjoy equal benefits of work.
Migraine can be a disability under either law, but it is not automatic. Whether your own migraine meets the test depends on how much it limits your day-to-day life.
What counts as reasonable for migraine?
ACAS gives examples that fit migraine well. They include changing the lighting above your desk or workstation, and flexible working such as home or hybrid working.
Other common options are a quieter place away from an open-plan area, screen glare filters, adjustable hours around attacks, and agreed breaks. The right mix depends on what sets off your attacks. An explainer on migraine triggers shows how your own pattern can point to the change that helps.
Does that include home working?
Home working can be a reasonable adjustment in the UK, and telework can be a reasonable accommodation in the US. Neither country gives a general right to work from home.
Treat home working as a proposal you argue for with evidence, not a demand. It is more likely to count as reasonable when it clearly removes a disadvantage linked to migraine, such as a noisy office, harsh lighting or a long commute, and when the job can still be done from home. Your employer can refuse if it is not reasonable in your role, but it should then offer another reasonable option.
The guide on reasonable adjustments explains the disclosure and the duty in full.
Do you need a diagnosis to ask?
A diagnosis strengthens a request, and a note from your doctor usually helps. In the US, the EEOC says an employer may ask for reasonable documentation when the disability is not obvious. In the UK, a GP note can support an adjustment request.
Before the conversation, a fresh diagnosis can help. The guide on what a migraine diagnosis means covers the first steps.
What should you record before you ask?
Keep a headache diary for several weeks. The NHS says it can help you work out what triggers your attacks. Record the date and time of each attack, how long it lasted, where you were, possible triggers, what you could not do and what helped.
After four to eight weeks, add up the attack days per month and the days lost. A summary that links attacks to the office, the lighting or the commute gives your doctor and employer a picture that a feeling cannot. If you want a ratio of how much migraine limits work and home life, the MIDAS questionnaire is a recognised scale.
What if your employer refuses?
A refusal is not the end. In the UK, an adjustment is only required if it is reasonable, considering the effect and the employer's size and resources. In the US, the limit is undue hardship. If one option would not work, ask about another.
Some refusals rest on cost. In the UK, Access to Work can fund practical support, and in the US, JAN lists options and state vocational rehabilitation can advise. If you are unsure what to tell your employer, the guide on telling your employer helps.
Who can advise you?
Your first stop is advice for your situation. In the UK, ACAS and Citizens Advice explain the law, Access to Work helps with funding, and an employment lawyer checks your case. In the US, JAN suggests migraine accommodations, the EEOC explains your rights, and an employment lawyer reviews the detail.
Log your migraine days in Sam and take the report to your doctor
A dated record turns your request from a feeling into a clear pattern, and it gives your doctor what they need to support you.
- Instead of memory: every attack is an entry with a time and a duration band, so "six attack days this month" replaces "quite often".
- Instead of a notes app: the doctor report as a PDF sums up 1, 3, 6 or 12 months of your migraine diary, ready to back a note from your doctor.
- Instead of Apple Health alone: your sleep and heart rate variability from Apple Health are in the same app, a few taps from the entry, and new entries made today also pick up last night's values when they exist.
Sam records what you enter and replaces neither a doctor's note nor advice. More in the migraine program.
Try Sam HealthSam is a wellness companion, not a medical device. The app does not diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition or health state. Always consult qualified professionals for medical decisions.
General information, not legal advice. Laws, deadlines and agency practice change, and your case may differ. Before applications, deadlines and conversations with employers, insurers or agencies, get advice from an adviser or lawyer.
Related reading
- Must you tell your employer about a chronic illness?
- How to ask for reasonable adjustments at work
- New migraine diagnosis: what now?
- Migraine triggers: sleep, stress and tracking
- CGRP Migraine Medication: Insurance and Headache Calendar
Sources
Updated: October 2026
- NHS: Migraine (page last reviewed 10 March 2026)
- ACAS: Reasonable adjustments at work (last updated 30 January 2025)
- GOV.UK: Reasonable adjustments for workers with disabilities or health conditions
- GOV.UK: Access to Work: get support if you have a disability or health condition
- GOV.UK: Equality Act 2010 guidance (England, Scotland and Wales)
- EEOC: Enforcement guidance on reasonable accommodation and undue hardship under the ADA
- JAN: Disability disclosure and the ADA
- JAN: Migraines (accommodation ideas including telework, flexible schedule and lighting)
More on Migraine
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have a right to work from home because of migraine?+
No general right to home working exists in the UK or US. Home working can be a reasonable adjustment in the UK or a reasonable accommodation in the US when it removes a disadvantage linked to your migraine. Whether it is reasonable in your job is decided case by case, so treat it as a proposal you argue for.
What counts as a reasonable adjustment for migraine?+
In the UK, ACAS lists changing the lighting above your desk and flexible working, including home working, as examples of reasonable adjustments. In the US, the EEOC lists modified schedules and changes to how work is done. Lighting, screen glare, quiet space and flexible hours are common options for migraine.
Do I need a formal migraine diagnosis to ask?+
A diagnosis strengthens a request, and a note from your doctor often helps. Under the US ADA your employer may ask for reasonable documentation when the disability is not obvious, and in the UK a GP note can support a request. Whether your migraine meets the legal definition of disability is a question for advice.
What should I record before I ask?+
A headache diary kept for several weeks helps, and the NHS says it can help you work out what triggers attacks. Record attack dates, duration, where you were, what you could not do and what helped. A dated diary also backs up a letter from your doctor.
Can my employer refuse my request?+
Yes, in limited cases. In the UK an adjustment is only needed if it is reasonable, considering the effect and the employer's resources, and in the US the limit is undue hardship, meaning significant difficulty or expense. If one option is refused, your employer should still consider another reasonable way to help.
Who can advise me?+
In the UK, ACAS, Citizens Advice, the Equality Advisory Support Service or an employment lawyer can advise, and Access to Work can help with funding. In the US, the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) has ideas for migraine accommodations, and the EEOC or an employment lawyer can advise on your rights.